The End of Alzheimer’s: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline by Dale Bredesen (PDF)

Description

The instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellerA groundbreaking plan to prevent and reverse Alzheimer’s Disease that fundamentally changes how we understand cognitive decline. Everyone knows someone who has survived cancer, but until now no one knows anyone who has survived Alzheimer’s Disease. In this paradigm shifting book, Dale Bredesen, MD, offers real hope to anyone looking to prevent and even reverse Alzheimer’s Disease and cognitive decline. Revealing that AD is not one condition, as it is currently treated, but three, The End of Alzheimer’s outlines 36 metabolic factors (micronutrients, hormone levels, sleep) that can trigger “downsizing” in the brain. The protocol shows us how to rebalance these factors using lifestyle modifications like taking B12, eliminating gluten, or improving oral hygiene. The results are impressive. Of the first ten patients on the protocol, nine displayed significant improvement with 3-6 months; since then the protocol has yielded similar results with hundreds more. Now, The End of Alzheimer’s brings new hope to a broad audience of patients, caregivers, physicians, and treatment centers with a fascinating look inside the science and a complete step-by-step plan that fundamentally changes how we treat and even think about AD.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Alzheimer’s is a disease for which there is no cure. Dr. Bredesen’s experimental program gives me hope that there are actions we can all take to care for our brains and keep Alzheimer’s at bay.” —Maria Shriver, Today Show “The End of Alzheimer’s is a monumental work. Dr. Bredesen completely recontextualizes this devastating condition away from a mysterious and unsolvable process to one that is both preventable and, yes, reversible. Pinning our hopes on pharmaceutical research to develop a miraculous wonder drug has left both physicians and patients empty handed. But now, this comprehensive approach offers solid results, bringing hope to so many.”—David Perlmutter, MD, Board-certified neurologist and author, #1 New York Times bestseller, Grain Brain, and Brain Maker”The End of Alzheimer’s, for the first time, synthesizes the latest science into a practical plan that can reverse Alzheimer’s and dramatically improve brain health and function. If you have a brain, read this book.”—Mark Hyman, MD, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Eat Fat, Get Thin”This book represents a major turning point in our approach to Alzheimer’s disease, from viewing it as a mysterious and incurable affliction that is governed almost exclusively by our genes, to understanding it as a multifactorial condition that can be prevented and even reversed largely through nutrition and lifestyle change. For the first time ever, patients and families affected by Alzheimer’s—as well as those at high risk for this devastating disease—truly have a reason to be hopeful.”—Chris Kresser, M.S., L.Ac Founder, Kresser Institute for Functional & Evolutionary Medicine, Author of the New York Times best seller The Paleo Cure “The End of Alzheimer’s is a masterful, authoritative, and ultimately hopeful patient guide to functional medicine for your brain. It will help you prevent and reverse Alzheimer’s disease, whether you have the ApoE4 gene or not. My patients fear Alzheimer’s more than any other diagnosis. This is the book to transmute fear into action.”—Sara Gottfried, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Younger”Having spent several years implementing many of Dr. Bredesen’s insights in my patients, I can assure you that following his advice can save yourself, your loved ones, and your friends from suffering from this preventable and reversible curse.”—Steven Gundry, MD, author of the New York Times bestseller The Plant Paradox”Dr. Dale Bredesen is a world class neuroscientist/neurologist who through his innovative and exacting research has discovered a safe and effective approach to the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease that will revolutionize the way we think about the disease.” —Jeffrey Bland, PhD, FACN, FACB; President, Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute “The End of Alzheimer’s offers a new beginning in Medicine — changing the focus from a singular disease to recognizing the systems-based approach required to care for the whole person. Dr. Bredesen translates the knowledge of science to the wisdom that helps to heal our people . . . and provide a vision for the end of Alzheimers!” —Patrick Hanaway, MD, Founding Medical Director, Director of Research, Center for Functional Medicine, Cleveland Clinic “In this engaging, heartfelt, and insightful book, Dr. Bredesen elucidates a bold new approach to Alzheimer’s, rooted in decades of his own pioneering research. A must read for anyone wondering what can be done for this dread disease, whether for themselves, a loved one, or a patient.” —Nathan Price, PhD, Professor & Associate Director of the Institute for Systems Biology About the Author Dale Bredesen, M.D., is internationally recognized as an expert in the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. He graduated from Caltech, then earned his M.D. from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He served as chief resident in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) before joining Nobel laureate Stanley Prusiner’s laboratory at UCSF as an NIH postdoctoral fellow. He held faculty positions at UCSF, UCLA, and the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Bredesen directed the Program on Aging at the Burnham Institute before coming to the Buck Institute in 1998 as its founding president and CEO. He is the chief medical officer of MPI Cognition. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Meet Kristin. Kristin was suicidal. Years before, she had watched in despair as her mother’s mind slipped away, forcing her to enter a nursing home after she could no longer recognize family members, let alone care for herself. Kristin had suffered along with her mother, who at the age of 62 had begun an 18‑year decline into Alzheimer’s disease. And at the end Kristin had suffered alone, for her mother was no longer sentient. When Kristin was 65, she began to experience her own cognitive problems. She got lost when driving on the freeway, unable to remember where to get off and on, even on familiar routes. She could no longer analyze data critical to her job, or organize and prepare reports in a timely fashion. Unable to remember numbers, she had to write down even four digits, not to mention phone numbers. She had trouble remembering what she had read, and by the time she reached the bottom of a page had to start at the top again. Reluctantly, Kristin prepared her resignation. She began to make mistakes more and more frequently, often calling her pets by the wrong names and having to search to find the light switches in her own home, even though she had flipped them on and off for years. Like many people, Kristin tried to ignore these symptoms. But they got worse and worse. After two years of unremitting cognitive decline, she consulted her physician, who told her she was becoming demented just as her mother had, and there was nothing he could do for her. He wrote “memory problems” on her chart, and because of that, she was unable to obtain long-term care insurance. She underwent retinal scanning, which revealed the Alzheimer’s-associated amyloid. She thought about the horror of watching her mother decline, about how she would live with progressive dementia and no long-term care, about the lack of treatment. She decided to commit suicide. She called her best friend, Barbara, explaining, “I watched what my mother went through as she slipped away, and there is no way I will allow that to happen to me.” Barbara was horrified to hear Kristin’s saga. But unlike when other friends had fallen victim to dementia, this time Barbara had an idea. She told Kristin about new research she had heard about, and suggested that rather than ending her life, Kristin travel several thousand miles to the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, just north of San Francisco. In 2012, Kristin came to see me. We talked for hours. I could offer her no guarantee, no example of any patient who had used the protocol—nothing more than diagrams, theory, and data from transgenic mice. In reality, Barbara had been premature in sending her to the Institute. And to make matters worse, the protocol I had developed had just been turned down for its first proposed clinical trial. The review board felt that it was “too complicated,” and pointed out that such trials are meant to test only a single drug or intervention, not an entire program (ah, if only diseases were that simple!). So all I could do was to go over the various parts of the protocol and recommend that she take these to her physician back home, asking him if he would work with her. She did that, and so began what has become the ReCODE protocol. Three months later, Kristin called me at home on a Saturday to say she could not believe the changes in her mental abilities. She was able to work full-time again, to drive without getting lost, and to remember phone numbers without difficulty. She was feeling better than she had in years. When I put the phone down, what rushed into my mind were the decades of research, the countless hours at the whiteboard with lab members and colleagues, the arguments with myself about each detail of the theory and treatment approach. All of this had not been in vain; it had pointed us in the right direction. Of course Kristin was only one person—as they say, an “n of one”— and we needed to see similar results in thousands and ultimately in millions. I thought back to the doctor who told his patient, “You are just an anecdote; you are not statistically significant.” To which his patient replied, “Well, my family says that I am significant. Besides, I’m healthy once again, so I don’t care about statistics.” Indeed. Every fundamental change needs to start somewhere—every successful approach must start with Patient Zero—and Kristin was Patient Zero. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I have seen a lot of dementia. My mother died of a dementia with no agreed diagnosis in 1998. We watched his progression as my ex-wife’s father lived in our house from 2001 until he died of Parkinson’s in 2005.Of the twenty or so guys who have stayed in touch after working together for IBM in Vietnam during the war, Bob and John have died of Alzheimer’s. I don’t know about the third – we last had a conversation about four years ago and his wife tells me he’s slipping.Some of the older ex-pats I know here in Ukraine are given to repeating themselves and rambling a bit. I’m not going to attempt diagnosis, but I sure hope I’m not like that.It appears I’m in good shape with regard to Alzheimer’s. It usually shows up well before one reaches my 80 years. It runs in families, and we have very little. All I recall being told is that my Aunt Berta was a little bit dotty before she died in her 90s.Sleep and Alzheimer’s are closely related. Though I can’t find the reference, I believe it was Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep” that put me onto this book. The thesis of both is that a person needs to take a holistic approach to their health. There are no magic pills for either sleeping or taming Alzheimer’s.The core thesis of this book is that Alzheimer’s is a syndrome, not a single disease. It is a result of the body’s attempt to defend itself against deterioration, not a disease unto itself. The tau tangles and the amyloid plaque that characterize the brains of Alzheimer’s victims are symptoms more than causes.The deterioration comes from three sources. The first is a genetic predisposition. If a person suspects Alzheimer’s the first, easy, thing to do would be to have a DNA analysis to see if the ApoE4 gene has been inherited from either or both parents. The second is associated with lifestyle and diet: too much gluten, caffeine, alcohol and so on and not enough exercise, sleep and so on. The third is triggered by toxins – mercury, molds, pesticides and so on.Bredesen’s thesis is that these three basic types of Alzheimer’s are triggered by a number of different conditions. He names 36 – his metaphor is 36 holes in the roof that have to be considered for patching in fixing the problem. American medicine is designed to look for a monotherapy – a single solution to a single problem, such as a hip replacement for a damaged joint or an antibiotic for syphilis. Even these, one notes, can be prevented by appropriate lifestyle choices. But American medicine is not structured that way.Monotherapies have been being tested for decades as solutions Alzheimer’s. None of them work. Bradesen notes that the idea of magic bullet solutions has been applied with marginal success to other complex issues such as heart disease. I would add AIDS, autism and autoimmune diseases to the list. He claims to have more a Chinese medicine – Ayurvedic – approach than traditional Western allopathic approach.Consistent with this observation, he gives several accounts of his encounters with the medical establishment which was absolutely resistant to his approach. Frustrated at every turn, he accepted one woman who had given up on other alternatives to be his Patient Zero for what has become his ReCODE protocol. She is doing well after 11 years. So what is his approach?Step number one is to undergo a series of laboratory tests commensurate with the observed symptoms. He gives reasons for all of the tests – measuring levels of vitamins, hormones, metals and trace minerals, metabolic byproducts and so on in the blood and urine. He offers the observation that most of the tests should be covered by insurance. If not they would come to $1000 or so.Step number two would be to put together a comprehensive treatment plan according to his ReCODE protocol. A customized plan for each patient, addressing the deficiencies discovered by the laboratory tests. The protocols cover diet, medicine, exercise, sleep and so on.The third step would be to measure and adjust. See how the plan is working, and tweak it in the attempt to get optimal levels of all measurements and, of course, measured progress.It will not always be possible to get optimal numbers for every measure. It will certainly not be possible for everybody to adhere to an optimal plan. Giving up sugar and caffeine, for instance, is very tough for some people. They should at the least be attempting the feasible and aware of the rest.I took the five-minute Montréal Cognitive Assessment that he references throughout the book to see how I do with regard to dementia. Though you would conclude, as do I, that anybody who can read a book like this and write a cogent review probably has a fairly healthy mind, I wanted to check it out. Yes. I would expect most of you reading this to be able to get a maximum score of 30. Here is one of many versions of the tests available online.In 15 years here I have not encounter Ukrainians with obvious signs of dementia. People don’t talk about it. First of all we don’t live as long. Secondly we have other things to worry about. Third I would surmise that we have healthier diets, not as much restaurant and junk food. Fourth, most of us get more exercise simply because we don’t own as many cars and have to walk a lot.My take on this book is that anybody who is worried about losing their mental grip ought to get the DNA test and take the Montréal Cognitive Assessment named above. If these make you concerned, buy the book and see what you can do about following its recommendations for diet, exercise and sleep. If you discern a real threat, by all means buy the book and see if you can get involved in a program of ReCODE therapy.A first-rate book. Five stars.

⭐This book has just been published, and I received the Kindle version tonight. Since my 97 year old mother with Alzheimer’s and aphasia moved in with us 5 years ago, I have spent many hours almost every night researching the disease and trying to find a way to help her. During the 5 years my mother has been with us, we had a lot of ups and downs. The downs were caused by problems, like Shingles in her eye, that were not in our control. When she came to live with us, she was very much overweight (4′ 10″ at 185 lbs.), was totally incontinent, was on 10 drugs for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc, couldn’t read or write, and couldn’t walk on her own. Within 9 months, she was taking a natural supplement for thyroid and all other prescription drugs had been eliminated. She became totally continent and was walking to go to the bathroom on her own. She started reading flash cards that we got for her and started writing. Her weight loss was gradual, but, now, 5 years later, she weighs about 115 lbs. and has gone from a size 2X to size 6. When we had her last blood work done, the doctor told us that she had the blood work of a 20 year old, and she was perfectly healthy. Unfortunately, her mental capacity has been reduced in the last 5 years. So, I had hopes that this book would offer something I hadn’t already found in my extensive research that would help me to help her.First of all, this book suggests extensive testing that most doctors won’t do on a regular basis in order to find out levels of components in the blood that help to determine possible supplements or dietary changes that may help. Most of this I already know, but it would be helpful for someone that has not had time to do the research. Basic physical exams generally don’t include the necessary tests, and you often have to request that specific test should be done. For example, the test for thyroid is usually only the test for TSH which is produced by the pituitary gland, but this is a result of the T3 and T4 that stimulates the thyroid hormone (TSH). TSH is produced by the pituitary gland in response to the T3 and T4. So measurement of the TSH does not give an accurate measure of the function of the thyroid.Other than extensive blood testing, this book suggests dietary changes. Many of the dietary suggestions I completely agree with, but some I do not. The author does mention the importance of eating meat, chicken, and eggs only from grass fed and grass finished animals, and consuming only wild-caught fish that are not harvested as large fish because of the risk of contaminants. He also mentions avoiding GMO foods and processed foods. For my family, all of this is a way of life. Although this has helped my mother to improve in the past, it definitely has not reversed her Alzheimer’s.One area that I do not at all agree with Dr. Bredesen on is the avoidance of gluten. I think this subject needs some expansion and an explanation of modern day store bread. Whole grains have been consumed for centuries with no adverse affects of gluten. The problem come in with the modern day processing of the grains. Gluten is a part of grains that must be developed in order for it to be digestible. This requires a long fermentation process to release the nutrients of the grain. The long fermentation releases the phytase in the grain that destroys the phytates. This is true for any seed type food such as rice, beans, etc. For breads, long fermentation greatly reduces the requirement for yeast and the addition of vital wheat gluten. Modern store bread making requires a large quantity of bread to be made in a short time. Instead of developing the gluten with a fermentation of 18-24 hours, bread can be made much faster by adding 4 times the yeast and vital wheat gluten. This makes a nice fluffy loaf that you can roll into a ball of paste that would stick to a wall, but it’s not anything your body can digest or use. So, I don’t believe that gluten is the problem, but more so the processing of the grains that make the flour. In addition, most store breads are made from flours that have been stripped of every nutrient in the grains. I, personally, make all of our bread and mill the flour from whole grains.This book does give some guidelines for supplements that might be helpful, but you need to know what deficiencies you are dealing with, and this gets back to blood work that your doctor will do. If you don’t know about deficiencies, using supplements is guesswork and can do more harm than good. This book does supply some good ground work for someone that hasn’t had time to do the research, but it definitely does no supply an end-all cure for Alzheimer’s.UPDATE 09/13/18:I wrote my initial review of this book a little over a year ago, and have come to the conclusion, that dementia, a form of Alzheimer’s can definitely be slowed down, but I don’t think it can be cured at this point. Diet is definitely a key point and some supplements are helpful. In the last year, my mother has lost more of her mobility, but we still try to make her walk as much as we can. So often, difficulty in walking causes caretakers to resort to a wheelchair, but doing this results in taking away a capability that should be encouraged. Without some exercise, the possibility of blood clots increases and muscles atrophy. Caretaking is definitely not easy for anyone doing it, but the easiest route of care is not often the best for the patient. My Mom is now 98 and had lost some physical capabilities, but we still encourage her to try. We know that taking the easier methods for us will be detrimental for her. Diet is very important in slowing dementia, but physical and mental support is just as important.UPDATE 05/25/20:It is now 3 years since I bought this book, and Mom has been with us over 8 years. She was diagnosed to have Alzheimer’s over 16 years ago. Knowing what I know now, I truly believe we could have reversed her dementia if she had come to live with us sooner. In the first couple of year’s, her doctors were amazed by the improvements in her physical and mental abilities. The only times she regressed was times she was admitted to the hospital for replacement of her pacemaker and at other times for “observation”. After each hospital stay, which was only a half dozen time in the 8 years, she regressed almost to the point we had to start over. Each time, we got her almost back to where she was before the hospital, but each time we lost a little ground.Mom is now 100 years old, still physically healthy, and taking no medications. She can no longer feed herself, but is cooperative when we feed her. She still recognizes us and other people, and smiles when she sees us. She also understands when we ask her to do something, and often answers with one word responses. She is still mostly continent for urine with most accidents happening during the night, and totally continent for bowel movements. Although walking is difficult, she still does walk with our assistance.At this point, it’s evident that Alzheimer’s is slowing taking her from us, but I firmly believe we could have reversed her dementia if it hadn’t been for the hospital stays that took so much from her. Caretaking is a huge responsibility, and one that many people would not be prepared for. As mentioned before, diet and exercise are important, but there is so very much more to it. Mental stimulation, patience, and, most of all, love are every bit as crucial to reversing and/or slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s.

⭐You won’t hear about Bredesden’s work in reversing Alzheimer’s on the six o’clock news because mainstream medicine still expects one drug to fix a condition which has up to 36 separate contributory causes. By attending to each individual’s requirements relating to these causes, Bredesden was able to reverse their cognitive decline allowing them to return to their former lives. While the numbers involved were small, the treatment protocols offer hope not only for reversing but for preventing it happening in the first place. In spite of millions of pounds of research funding, drugs to combat dementia have been an expensive failure probably because the disease is multifactorial and while there are common features, the factors in each case may differ. The most important finding by Dr Bredesden is that the amyloid plaque which builds up in the brain of sufferers and has been thought of as the cause of Alzheimer’s, much as high cholesterol has been thought of as the cause of heart disease and stroke, is not the cause but a protective response by the body to pathogens which may include bacteria, moulds, viruses and which give rise to chronic inflammation. While genetics have a role, your genetic inheritance is not a life sentence as genes may be switched on or remain dormant depending on the dietary and lifestyle choices available to you.

⭐I’ve been following the brilliant Dr Dale Bredesen for about 2 years now and could not wait for this book to come out. Having REVERSED Alzheimers in patients, this is the first, real, concrete hope/proof that the treatment for Alzheimers is not one pill invented by a big pharma giant (that may never happen) but a comprehensive health, wellbeing and nutrition plan instead. Please buy this book if you’re concerned for yourself, anyone else or you work in the health or wellbeing field. It should be mandatory reading. Dr Bredesen is way ahead of the curve and this book is a big beacon of light in a dark, often negative, hopeless landscape of dementia and worse, Alzheimer’s specifically. It’s also well written and I found it such an informative, inspiring and enjoyable (despite the topic) read. Highly recommended!!! A must buy.

⭐The early part of the book is like an endless trailer, all it’s coming, it’s coming, soon you’ll know the cure for alzheimers, just keep reading (which made me cynical instantly) and then pow it’s you need to change your diet and the way you live (you Americans). The trouble is that none of this is new, I’ve read at least 2 books already telling me this and they both managed to do it without the feeling that I am having a finger wagged in my face as I am talked down to by somebody of ‘superior’ intelligence. There’s nothing wrong with the information in the book, it’s just the way it’s delivered. There are more reader friendly books than this if you want to learn about the importance of diet (and exercise et al) in keeping your brain young. Although the information is correct I have no qualms about warning others away from it’s haughty tone as this is Amazon UK and the author obviously thinks the world begins and ends in America – so he will never read this.

⭐I think in years to come people will look back on this book as pivotal in turning the tide against Alzheimer’s.As well as documenting practical approaches to reversing Alzheimer’s (and in so doing give hope to the millions who are already afflicted or who are genetically predisposed to the disease) Dr Bredesen explains how underlying physiological pathways converge to increase the risk of getting the disease. Dr Bredesen intersperses his narrative with testimonials of patients who have successfully reversed this truly awful soul-destroying disease.It is evident that Dr Bredesen has faced huge obstacles in extending the reach of his programme to reverse Alzheimer’s however he has been resolute in his determination to conduct further trials and to spread the message of hope that his programme, ReCODE offers to many millions of sufferers and their loved ones.I remain convinced that Dr Bredesen’s 21st Century ‘programmatic’ medical approach will ultimately gain world-wide acceptance not just for Alzheimer’s but for other modern chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.I’d like to say thank you to Dr Bredesen and his team for their research over the past three decades because for people like me who face the horrific prospect of Alzheimer’s I now have hope and a means to avoid it and live a healthier lifestyle as I age.

⭐Genuinely interesting and valuable stuff in here. Some good explanations and some excellent advice.However.His recommendations are extremely expensive involving a lot of tests and a lot of supplements. Clearly, being expensive doesn’t mean they are wrong, but all that supplementation seems dubious. And perhaps there is a reason (other than the those Dr Bredesen puts forward) that the rest of the medical profession hasn’t bought into all this stuff.Dale Bredesen seems to sell the most books because he makes the biggest promises. Gary Small, author of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program seems to make more realistic claims and gets hammered on the sales front accordingly. Dr Small advises that you can significantly increase the age of onset and you can reduce the speed of progression and that sounds more realistic.Anyway you can check out the Brain Health Scotland website for the TL:DR. Simple, actionable, good adive.

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